Basket-style carriers have been used for many years to package bottles. Basically, they consist of bottom, side and end panels and one or more vertical supports to which a handle is connected. Divider partitions or straps extend out from the vertical supports to the side panels to form cells containing individual bottles. The bottles are supported by the bottom panel of the carrier and are prevented from contacting each other and moving out of the carrier by the cell structure. The carriers are sturdy and easy to lift and carry. One drawback, however, is their relatively high cost resulting from the amount of stock required to produce a carrier blank. Another drawback is that they allow only the upper portions of the bottles to be seen. For products whose containers are distinctive and readily identifiable, it may be preferred to expose substantially the entire bottle.
Bottles supported in clip-type carriers are exposed throughout their length due to the abbreviated height of the carrier. These carriers support the bottles from the underside of the bottle flanges. One such arrangement is a bottle neck carrier that employs so-called starburst support tabs surrounding the bottle neck openings in a support panel so as to engage the underside of the flange or shoulder that projects out from the bottle neck. Such carriers, however, are not perceived as holding the bottles in place as securely as basket-style carriers inasmuch as the individual bottles are apt to rotate or swing from their neck supports while the package is being carried.
It is an object of the invention to provide a basket-style carrier which exposes substantially the full height of the bottles to view while retaining the benefits normally associated with a basket-style carrier.